Troublesome
by Dai-choo-choo
Summary: Growing up is troublesome. Calvin never wanted to grow up, but everyone has to. Even Calvin.


_Yeah…well, this may seem sort of random. But I did it for a school project. We were supposed to take a comic strip, then write our own little story about it. Me, being an obsessive Calvin and Hobbes addict, wrote about Calvin and Hobbes. I thought it was pretty good, even though I got a B on it 'cause I forgot to censor out the…ahem 'bad' words. Oh well. I want to know what REAL fans think about it._

_So…read and review! 3_

_**Title:** Troublesome_

_**Rating**: T for language_

_**Summary**: Growing up is troublesome. Calvin never wanted to grow up, but everyone has to. Even Calvin._

The room was silent; if you could call the honking of horns, wailing sirens, the screaming of cats, and the yells of the people on the street somehow making it through the walls to Calvin's room silence. But it was quiet enough to where the college student had fallen asleep; and stayed asleep for that matter, for the last fourteen hours.

He was curled up on his mattress, which sat on his floor, tangled in his dark sheets. The blanket long since abandoned when it refused to stay on the bad. So Calvin slept, peacefully enough, until there was a rasp at the door.

He moaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over his head. But with that roll, he caused himself to roll completely off the bed and onto the floor. The clicking of a knuckle on wood stopped, and he gave a sigh. Maybe it was just the landlord, telling him he was late again for the rent. Or just some salesman. He prayed to god it wasn't the one person he knew would knock on his door this early in the morning. Even if it could be in the afternoon, Calvin was too lazy to look.

But just as he thought, the knocking came again. This time followed by a voice. "Calvin! Get your fat ass out of bed and open this damned door!" the high, feminine voice just confirmed Calvin's worst fears; it was the one person he dreaded it would be.

"No." Calvin moaned, somehow maneuvering himself under the mattress to block out the sound. "Go away!"

The knocking continued, and Calvin just pulled the mattress tighter over his head.

This went on for what seemed like ages, even though in reality it was only about two and a half minutes. Calvin gritted his teeth, he shook his head, he even went as far as to murmur one last request from Hobbes, but the tapping continued. And, by some weird reason, got louder.

"Calvin! God, open this damned door! Do you realize this is the third time this week I've had to do this?" the high voice called.

"Third time?" Calvin thought. "But it's only Tuesday…"

Soon he heard a clicking noise, followed by a scraping one, and then a few grunts. And, just like any other day, he heard the door swing open and a curse. Rolling his eyes he untangled his self from the sheets, but stayed on the floor.

"You know Suzie, you don't have to do this." He said warily, slowly but surely standing up.

"Yeah, yeah." The girl muttered by the door. "But you'd sleep all day if I wasn't here; besides, I promised your parents that I would help you pass your first semester. Let's get…god Calvin! Put on some clothes!"

Calvin looked up to see Suzie standing by the door. Her brown hair was still cut short, short enough to where it stopped around her ears. She had a long, denim skit on and a pink polo shirt. A blue shoulder bag ran across her chest, and her face was covered…by her hands?

"What are you talking about?" Calvin asked, looking to the side where a small mirror hung. "Oh." His reflection showed him the picture of a well built boy, about twenty, with long, unruly blonde hair. He was only in his boxers. This boy sighed, and then shrugged. "What do you expect, Suzie, I was asleep."

Suzie sighed and shook her head, bending down to pick up a shirt which was on the top of a pile of clothes near her feet. "I expect you to already be up when your class starts." She glanced down to her watch. "Which is in about ten minutes. Thank the lord your parents got you a room on campus." Let's go." She threw the shirt at Calvin's head and started digging in another pile for a pair of pants.

Calvin didn't even try to catch the shirt as it fell on top of his head. For a second he wondered why he was still wearing the same red striped shirt he did when he was in first grade, but shrugged off the thought as he pulled the fabric over his head. He managed to get the shirt on when a pair of jeans came flying at him. Again, he didn't even try to dodge these either, and just pulled them off his head and put them on.

"Let's _go_!" Suzie hissed, opening the door to his apartment. Calvin, again, rolled his eyes, grabbed his backpack and sandals, and followed the girl out of the front door. He glanced back to his door as she pulled him down the sidewalk and smiled. Calvin was proud of his living quarters, even if it was only a one room well, room. He didn't have a kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom for that matter; only the living room, which he had turned into his bedroom/kitchen/living room/study/everything else. But what made him proud of it was not the fact he lived in one room and had to walk down the hallway to go to the bathroom, but it was he had paid for it with his own money. Or at least, he paid for the rent and half of the original costs. And he was the one who had made it livable. It was something to be proud of, or at least, that's what he thought.

This was when Suzie gave another tug to Calvin's collar, and picked up her speed. In fact, she was now so fast, Calvin had to turn back around and walk foreword to keep up with her. "Now," She started. "I am going to meet you after your class, right in front of the doors. Don't walk off, don't leave that spot, and don't go get something to eat." She commanded as she continued to pull him down the sidewalk. "I will meet you there, and you better be there. Then we will get something to eat, and then we will go and study. Got it?"

Calvin rolled his eyes. "Yes_, mom_."

Suzie turned and gave him and evil look, but rolled her eyes and continued foreword. Down a sidewalk, up a set of stairs, though a set of doors, down a hallway, through another set of door, then halfway down another hall. That was when she stopped, so abruptly that Calvin ran into her, but she didn't fall over. He did, but that was normal.

"Don't you have brake lights?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"No." she snapped, grabbing his hand and pulling him back up. "Now go! You're already late!" she pushed him through the doors, turned, and sprinted down the hallway to her own class.

Calvin cursed her under his breath, but turned to look at the rest of the class. Apparently the teacher had been in the middle of a lecture, for all eyes were on him when he walked in. He smiled weakly and shook his hand side to side. It was supposed to be a wave, but the jerking movements looked nothing like the gesture.

"Well, well, if it isn't Calvin. Nice of you to join us." The teacher commented, crossing his hands over his chest. "Now that you are actually here, will you please take a seat so we can continue?"

Calvin, after mutteri8ng a 'sorry', nodded and started up the stair to the first empty seat. Much to his pleasure, no one was near it; not in front nor behind. He slumped in the seat and quickly began taking out all the items he needed.

His paper…his pen…his books…his tiger…wait, his tiger? Calvin looked around frantically to make sure no one saw Hobbes, then pulled the tiger onto his lap and sat up straight. He knew that even though could have surely eaten anyone who said anything bad about Calvin still carrying around a tiger, he didn't want to risk the paperwork.

His teacher was on a lecture about grabbing the audience's attention, when Calvin zoned out. Why he had signed up for Screenplay as one of his college courses was beyond him. Screenplay, Creative Writing, and History. Yes, history, much to his dismay. That class was by far the most boring thing he had ever done, and if he still had his time machine…

"_Calvin?"_ came a familiar voice. _"You aren't paying attention again."_

'I know, I know.' Calvin thought, looking down to the tiger sitting in his lap. 'But I swear, this class is almost as boring as History. All we talk about is 'how to capture an audience's attention'. Blah. All you need is gore, blood, violence, and more gore.'

"_Yes, though that is true, you still should pay attention. Though it might be surprising, this class is quite interesting. I've paid attention in a few of this teacher's classes; he has some interesting stuff to tell you."_

'I signed up for this course so I could write my own screenplay, not listen about how to create one.'

Hobbes sighed. _"This is hopeless."_

"Calvin?"

Calvin's head jerked up to see the class staring at him again. "Ye-yes?"

"Meet me after class today." The teacher said, looking worriedly at him.

"But-" He was going to say he had to meet Suzie, but if Suzie found out he was talking to the teacher, he'd be in so much trouble. "Yes sir."

'Look what you did.'

"_I didn't do this; you should have been paying attention in the first place."_ Hobbes retorted, sticking out his tongue. _"And why do I always sit in your lap? Why can't I sit in the seat next to you? No one is sitting there."_

"Because." Calvin hissed. "People will think I'm crazy if they see me still talking to a stuffed tiger."

"Calvin!" the teacher roared. "Wait until after class!"

"Yessir." Calvin muttered, sulking back into his chair.

9696969696969696969696969

Suzie checked her watch again, an easily readable paranoid expression playing on her features. "Where is he?" she hissed, looking around. She had told Calvin, specifically, where to meet her, hadn't she?

She racked her brain for the memory…she was pulling Calvin to class, telling him that she'd meet him right here after class. That he wasn't supposed to go anywhere, or do anything, until she got there. But if that was so, where the hell was he?

She bit her lip. He had to be here somewhere, right? He couldn't have just walked off.

"Dammit." She muttered, pulling a brown strand of hair behind her head. "I should have known this was going to happen. I should have known." Quickly she set off down the hallway, looking inside every room she came upon looking for her blonde friend. For all she knew, he could be in the next city by now. He had no sense of direction.

696969696969

When in fact, the same blonde with no sense of direction she had been worrying over, was still in his classroom, sinking lower and lower into his chair as he waited for the last student to leave. He had put Hobbes up after the last incident, not wanting to get yelled at again, and was taking his time in packing his things. It was embarrassing enough having to see the teacher like he did all throughout his school years, but seeing the teacher in college? Wasn't he supposed to be responsible now?

The teacher rapped up whatever he had with the student, and sent the boy on his way. Looking up to Calvin, he sighed and shook his head. "Come'ere Calvin." He said.

Calvin gulped, picked up his backpack, and walked down the stairs. 'Breathe,' he told his self. 'Imagine what Hobbes would do.'

That didn't work, for the very gruesome and graphic image of his teacher being eaten by a tiger engulfed Calvin's senses. He shook his head, missing the last step on his way. It was a quick, hard fall, with the last landing anyone would want, on your head.

The room started spinning as Calvin turned over to look at the ceiling. "Calvin!" his teacher yelled, jumping over his desk to kneel down beside him. "Calvin! Are you alright?"

But what Calvin saw was not his teacher at all; it was in fact, a very familiar face. A face he hadn't seen eye level with him since he was little. A very furry face. But then it faded, and slowly, the whole room turned black.

6969696969696

"What do you mean he fell?"

"I mean just that, he was walking down the stairs, and he missed the last one and fell."

"I can't believe this! This is just like him!"

"I'm so sorry; I didn't know he hit his head this hard."

"No, it's not your fault, he's probably just sleeping."

"I just wanted to talk to him, especially about his behavior in class."

"His behavior? What did he do this time?"

"I'm not in the position to tell someone who isn't his family."

"Listen, I'm the closest thing to a family he has right now."

"It's not necessarily what he did, more like how he normall acts."

"Oh shit, he didn't tell you did he?"

"Tell me what?"

"Of course he didn't tell you, he doesn't believe it himself. Oh well. You see, Calvin is sch-"

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep_

"Oh my god, Calvin!"

"Call his parents!"

"No! Where's the nurse? NURSE?!?!"

69696969696969969696

"_Calvin?"_

Calvin's eyes flickered open, and he was staring up into the sky, partially shaded by trees. Hobbes was sitting next to him with an eyebrow raised.

"_Calvin? You okay? I mean, you were moaning in your sleep and stuff."_

Calvin rubbed his eyes, unable to comprehend what was going on. Just a second ago he was in college, barely getting by. Suzie was his best friend, besides Hobbes of course, and he fell down the stairs, and…

"Wow, Hobbes, I just had the weirdest dream. I was in college, and Suzie was there, and so were you, and I didn't have sugar or TV, and then I went to this boring class, and then I fell down the stairs, and then I died." The young boy sat up and looked around. He was back in his backyard, sitting under the big oak tree with Hobbes. It was mid-afternoon and the sun was shining, the birds were singing…it had to be summer.

"_Well good thing it was a dream then, huh_?" Hobbes asked, lying back down_. "It sounded like a troublesome life."_

"Yeah…" Calvin trailed off, looking up into the sky. "Troublesome."


End file.
